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Sanitary Sewer System

A sanitary sewer system is the network of pipes running underground and other facilities, such as pump stations, that collect and transport the wastewater from the houses to the wastewater treatment plants. At the treatment plant, the wastewater is processed (treated) before being returned to the environment.

What does the sanitary sewer system do?

First by gravity, the pipes convey the wastewater downstream through the pipes from one point to the next. When the pipes are too deep, pumping stations do the work by pushing the wastewater through the pipes until it reaches the treatment plant.

The sanitary sewer system could be either PUBLIC or PRIVATE. Sanitary sewers on the public right-of-way and maintained by the local utility are considered public sanitary sewer systems. If the sanitary sewer systems are within private properties, they are normally considered private. Within Miami-Dade County there are approximately 730 facilities with private pump stations and approximately 1,420 public pump stations currently in operation.

Why is it needed?

If the wastewater is not properly collected and transported to the treatment plants to be treated, the raw wastewater might end up into our canals, lakes or beaches. Human contact with bodies of water contaminated with wastewater could cause illness. If those bodies of water can not be used due to contamination, it would mean that no swimming, fishing or any human activity could be permitted in those surface waters.

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